Yale in control at Women’s Nationals

Mount Pleasant, SC (May 25, 2017) – The Sperry Women’s National Championship began today for the 18 collegiate teams that advanced from the semifinal stage on May 23-24. After entering the Nationals ranked third in the coach’s poll, Yale University is presenting a persuasive case that they deserve better. They won their Semifinals and now hold the Nationals lead.

Racing got underway around 10 a.m. and the temperatures stayed in the mid 70s with partly sunny skies. The winds started from the southwest around 10-12 knots and built to 15 knots and higher. After a 90-minute lunch break, the winds shifted to the west and stayed in the teens with higher gusts. The current was also strong at around 3 knots at its peak and good size waves were on the course today.

With A and B divisions sailing 10 races in Z420s and FJs, the Yale women are led by their B-division team where freshman skipper Louisa Nordstrom and crew Claire Huebner ’18 posted all top-four scores to lead their fleet.

“Claire [Huebner] is our secret weapon,” says Bill Healy, assistant coach for Yale University, “She and Louisa have been working hard together the last couple of weeks to prepare in these types of conditions.

“We started well today and focused on having a lane off the starting line to have options to tack out or do what needed to be done,” Healy says. “We are still taking it race by race and we will work on keeping our heads on straight tomorrow.”

Sailing for Yale is Casey Klingler ’18 with Natalya Doris ’17 and Christine Klingler ’20 in A-division and Louisa Nordstrom ’20 with Claire Huebner ’18 in B-division.

Boston College finished the day in second place, only 13 points behind Yale, with their A-division team of Erika Reineke ’17 with Fiona Walsh ’17 in the lead.

“Today was windy and good sailing,” says Greg Wilkinson, head coach for Boston College. “We had some individual goals we were working on today that we mostly met and we also worked on straight line speed.

“At times I think our women had a boat speed advantage and we had good starts,” Wilkinson says of their success. “It is a strong event with strong competition, the semifinals were good and now the best have moved on and it’s a true championship.

“It’s been a great event with good viewing and high quality judges, the College of Charleston is doing an awesome job. We still have a long way to go tomorrow with 16 total races, so we will focus on sailing and the conditions.”

Sailing for Boston College is Erika Reineke ’17 with Fiona Walsh ’17 in A-division and Allyson Donahue ’17 with Tara Ferraris ’19 and Madeleine Loosbrock ’17 in B-division.

Coast Guard is sitting in third place 29 points behind Boston College.

“We are happy to be in the hunt after today,” says Brian Swingly, head coach for Coast Guard. “We treat this event just like every other event. We try to limit mistakes and sail fast.”

Sailing for Coast Guard is Nikole Barnes ’17 with Anna Maria Vaccaro ’19 in A-division and Dana Rohde ’18 with Madelynn Widmeier ’19 in B-division.

There are eight races left in each division to complete the regatta.

Racing is set to begin at 10 a.m. tomorrow. No race can begin after 5 p.m. Awards will take place after the racing the top three women’s teams will be presented with the Gerald C. Miller Trophy for first place, the New England Women’s Trophy for second place and the Ann Campbell Trophy for third place.

The Quantum Women’s College Sailor of the Year will also be awarded to a female sailor who has consistently performed at the highest competitive level in the 2016-2017 season. Additionally the Women’s All-Americans and All-American Honorable Mentions will be announced.

Day One Results (Top 9 of 18; 10 races)
1. Yale University, 98
2. Boston College, 111
3. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 140
4. University of Rhode Island, 142
5. Dartmouth College, 147
6. Brown University, 155
7. Stanford University, 159
8. College of Charleston, 165
9. Georgetown University, 170

Live coverage will be provided for the last day of racing on May 26.

Event details – Social feed – Results

Following the women’s nationals are the team racing nationals (May 27-29) and the coed fleet racing nationals (May 30-June 2). Details.

Livestream Broadcast Schedule
• LaserPerformance Team Race National Championship – May 27-29
WATCH HERE: Saturday, May 27 through Monday, May 29 @ 9:30 EST (3 days)

• Gill Co-Ed Dinghy National Championship (May 30 – Jun e 2
WATCH HERE: Thursday, June 1 through Friday, June 2 @ 9:30 am EST (2 days):

Source: Jennifer Mitchell (words), Michael Wiser (photos)